New Delhi: The United States on Friday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stand on the Ukraine conflict and once again called for an end to violence in the pursuit of diplomacy.
State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedanta said, “We will take PM Modi at his word and welcome those comments when they happen. Other countries will make their own decisions on engagement with Russia. We will work to minimize the effects of the war.” Will continue to coordinate with allies.” Patel during a press conference as quoted by news agency ANI.
When asked about India’s role in preventing armed conflict, the State Department spokesperson said, “Any country that is interested in joining the peace and ending this (Russia-Ukraine) war , it should do so in close partnership with Ukrainian partners.”
Patel made these remarks in response to a question on India’s position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and PM Modi’s call to end the war.
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In September, PM Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Samarkand and told him that “today is not an age of war”. He stressed the need to find ways to solve the problems of food, fuel security and fertilizers.
Notably, the US State Department’s remarks come hours after PM Modi had a telephonic conversation with Vladimir Putin on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated his call for dialogue and diplomacy as the “only way” to resolve the Ukraine crisis.
The two leaders also reviewed bilateral cooperation in the areas of energy, trade and defense during the talks.
According to news agency PTI, a Russian readout said Putin made a “fundamental assessment of Russia’s line on the Ukrainian direction at Modi’s request”.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said that PM Modi briefed the Russian President about India’s current Chairmanship of the G-20 and highlighted its key priorities.
This was the fifth telephonic conversation between the two leaders this year. They spoke on phone on February 24, March 2, March 7 and July 1.
“Following their meeting in Samarkand on the sidelines of the SCO summit, the two leaders reviewed several aspects of the bilateral relationship, including energy cooperation, trade and investment, defense and security cooperation and other key areas,” the PMO said.
It added, “In the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the Prime Minister reiterated his call to advance dialogue and diplomacy.”
The phone conversation comes at a time when it was clarified that PM Modi will not be traveling to Russia for the annual India-Russia summit this year.
Putin had come to India last year for the summit.
So far, New Delhi has not directly criticized Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, but has been pressing for resolving the conflict through dialogue.
